Meta‐Analysis of Clerical Performance Predictors: Still stable after all these years

Pearlman, Schmidt, and Hunter (1980) published a seminal paper on the validity of various measures for predicting performance in clerical jobs. They concluded that for both job and training performance criteria, 10 types of tests (e.g., perceptual speed, clerical aptitude, verbal ability) predicted performance across 5 clerical job families. This paper describes a psychometric meta‐analysis of validity studies using similar measures for clerical jobs conducted since 1980 to examine the stability of Pearlman and colleagues' validity estimates. This paper contributes to the literature by investigating the long‐term stability of validity generalization estimates over a period of several decades. Clerical jobs provide a compelling case study because these jobs have changed considerably due to the increased use of computers and technology in the office environment. Results showed that the mean population estimates in the present study were consistent with, or higher than, those obtained by Pearlman and colleagues, thus demonstrating the long‐term stability of meta‐analytic estimates of validity. The relative stability of the validity estimates also supports the robustness of g as a predictor, even as jobs change over time.     

Occasion Setting and Drug Tolerance

There is considerable evidence that drug-paired cues become associated with drug effects. It has been hypothesized that these cues act as Pavlovian conditional stimuli (CSs), and elicit conditional compensatory responses that contribute to tolerance. On the basis of a conditioning analysis of tolerance, we would expect that it should be possible to establish drug-paired cues as occasion setters, as well as conditional stimuli. Using feature-positive discrimination training, we evaluated the contribution of occasion-setting stimuli (as well as CSs) to tolerance to the hypothermic effect of ethanol in rats. The results indicated that a complete associative analysis of drug tolerance should incorporate not only the CS properties of predrug cues, but also the occasion-setting properties of such cues. The findings have implications for interpreting conflicting findings concerning extinction of tolerance and for cue-exposure treatments of addiction.     

The differential outcomes procedure can interfere or enhance operant rule learning

The differential outcomes effect—the enhancement of learning and memory performance by correlating distinct reinforcers with to-be-remembered events (sample stimuli)—has been stated to be one of the most robust phenomena in learning psychology. However, in this paper we demonstrate that the correlation between unique samples and unique reinforcers can either interfere with or enhance learning a spatial matching-rule, dependent on whether these two processes are trained concurrently or sequentially. If the Pavlovian conditioning (unique sample-reward pairings) occurs before the matching rule is learned (sequentially), the conditioned expectations of unique rewards will enhance the acquisition of the spatial matching-rule in rats (the differential outcomes effect will be observed). However, if rats are required to learn the Pavlovian associations and the matching-rule concurrently, they are impaired in acquiring the spatial matching-rule. Thus, employing the differential outcomes procedure can either enhance or detract from learning and remembering the task rule—dependent on the nature of the task and order of training. These data suggest that under some circumstances learning Pavlovian associations can compete with the formation of instrumental behavior.     

It's not that bad: Social challenges to emotional disclosure enhance adjustment to stress

Studies conducted in the United States (n=115) and Spain (n=146) examined how talking about an acute stressor in different social contexts influences cognitive, emotional, and physiological adjustment. In both studies, female college students viewed a video dramatizing a real-life, gang rape scene on two separate days. After the first viewing, participants were randomly assigned to one of four social conditions: no talk, talk alone about their reactions, talk to a validating confederate about their reactions, or talk to a challenging confederate about their reactions. Participants in the challenge condition showed the greatest emotional, cognitive, and physiological benefits across cultures, whereas participants in the validate and talk conditions evidenced only modest benefits. These findings suggest that the social context of disclosure has a strong influence on adjustment processes and that providing an alternative and more sanguine perspective can help individuals recover from acute stressors.     

Exposure to sexism can decrease implicit gender stereotype bias

Two studies examined the effect of exposure to sexism on implicit gender bias, focusing specifically on stereotypes of men as competent and women as warm. Male and female participants were exposed to sexism or no sexism. In both Experiment 1 (Implicit Association Task; N = 115) and Experiment 2 (Go/No‐go Association Task; N = 167), women who had been exposed to sexist beliefs demonstrated less implicit gender stereotype bias relative to women who were not exposed to sexism. In contrast, exposure to sexism did not influence men's implicit gender stereotype bias. In Experiment 2, process modelling revealed that women's reduction in bias in response to sexism was related to increased accuracy orientation and a tendency to make warmth versus competence judgments. The implications of these findings for current understandings of sexism and its effects on gender stereotypes are discussed.     

Applied Participatory Ethics: Bridging the Social Justice Chasm Between Counselor and Client

The authors introduce an applied participatory ethics paradigm consistent with the contemporary focus on social justice in the practice of counseling, emphasizing participation of all rightful parties, including the client, in ethical decision‐making processes. The paradigm is an adaptation and expansion of the work of Prilleltensky, Rossiter, and Walsh‐Bowers ( 1996 ) and rests on their conceptualization of restrictive and participatory orientations. The origins of the model's added elements in 4 areas of rehabilitation and counseling literature (i.e., ethical knowledge and practices, the therapeutic alliance or relationship, client involvement, and client empowerment) are described. Finally, interrelationships between the different phases and elements of the model are discussed.     

What Factors Influence the Decision to Share Suicidal Thoughts? A Multilevel Social Network Analysis of Disclosure Among Individuals with Serious Mental Illness

Nondisclosure of suicidal thoughts limits suicide risk management. Consistent with disclosure models for other stigmatized statuses, understanding suicidal disclosure requires accounting for features of the discloser (individual factors) and the discloser–recipient relationship (relational factors). In a sample of 30 adults with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder (Level 2) who nominated 436 social network members (Level 1), we examined disclosure patterns and identified individual and relational correlates of disclosure intent. Most individuals disclosed in the past (77%; n = 23) and all intended on disclosing (100%; n = 30). Disclosure was highly selective, with 14% (n = 62) of network members identified as prior confidants and 23% (n = 99) identified as intended confidants. Multilevel modeling indicated that relational factors were more central to disclosure than individual factors. Network members who were prior confidants and who provided social support were attractive targets for intended disclosure. Our findings suggest that “targeted” gatekeeper training may be a promising strategy and reveal relational characteristics to identify “high‐probability confidants.”     

Goal orientations, motivational climate, equality, and discipline of Spanish physical education students

This study analyzes how dispositional goal orientations and perception of different motivational climates are related to the students' perception of sex-related egalitarian treatment and the appearance of disciplined or undisciplined behaviors in physical education classes. Analyses showed that ego orientation is a predictor of undisciplined behavior. Task orientation was positively associated to discipline. The perception of task-involving motivational climate is related to the students' perception of equal treatment. On the contrary, the perception of ego-involving climate has been linked positively to the prediction of the perception of sex discrimination in physical education classes and negatively to the perception of equality and the appearance of disciplined behavior. This study discusses the implications of these results related to teaching instructional actions in physical education classes.     

Resilience and the burnout-engagement model in formal caregivers of the elderly

This paper investigates the relationship between resilience and positive/negative mental aspects of psychological well-being in formal caregivers for the elderly. The sample consisted of 265 caregivers who work in different residential homes in Extremadura and Castilla y León (Spain). The instruments used included the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale , the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. The most significant findings show that caregivers with higher levels of resilience also have higher levels of professional efficacy and job engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption) and appear to be less emotionally exhausted or cynical than caregivers with lower levels of resilience. It cannot be concluded that more resilient caregivers will not get burned out, but they develop better engagement skills. As they strengthen these personal attributes, they become less vulnerable to burnout.